Abby is 2!

Little Miss Abigail has turned 2! We had two celebrations for her, first a family celebration on the big day. She and Jonah wasted no time devouring a cake (with Daddy's help... Mommy was actually gone for the cake eating).

I'm not sure what was said to cause the arm raising, but I'm going to guess that it involved something along the lines of "Mommy is gone, so who wants to eat the entire cake in one night??"

A few days later we had Abby's extended family party at our house with all the cousins. This is what present opening looks like when you have 10 cousins and a brother to "help".

Ryan also turned 9 a few days before Abby, so he shared in the party too.

Happy birthday you two!

Giving Thanks

We spent Thanksgiving in Ohio this year and there are loads of pictures, so we'll make this quick.

Because of a Southwest sale saving us a couple of hundred dollars, we ended up flying out pretty early this year on my birthday. No better way to spend your birthday than 10 hours of traveling with two sleep deprived kiddos, right? Regardless, Mimi had a cake all prepared for me when we

arrived and just needed Jonah to help with the finishing touches.

A few days into our trip, Mark and his family came to visit for a night too! It was so fun to see Mark, Steph, Eli, Toby, and Ish, that we were having too much fun to take pictures... whoops!

Helping Mimi cook for the big Thanksgiving feast!
What a helper.

This picture cracks me up. Playing a lot of piano can make a kid thirsty!

Jonah remembered last year how he rode on a big train in the mall, so this year we had to make the same visit.

In the middle of the trip, mommy and daddy got a much needed 3 day getaway to Niagara Falls, which was about 3 hours away from Brian's parents house and my actual birthday celebration. :) We stayed on the Canadian side and since we were there in the off-season, we got a great rate on some amazing rooms!

This is the hallway walking into our room... it was huge! And had a hot tub and a shower with 4 shower heads!!! We were spoiled. :)
The first night we were there we went down to take a look at the falls lit up.

The tourist trap right next to the falls.

Beautiful!

Did I mention breakfast in bed was included in our room rate? So fun! And yummy!

We also got to eat at many delicious restaurants in a small town nearby called Niagara on the Lake. It was very beautiful and full of vineyards. This one here that we ate at is the best meal I think I've ever had in my life. Brian loved his food too.

This was our view while we ate.

Another delicious restaurant.

We also went horseback riding around the vineyards and in the woods. It was very fun and something we certainly don't do in our normal day to day life.

The falls by day.

And, for all the Office fans out there, we had to visit a site from the big wedding episode. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the church is actually in LA, so the hotel they stayed at will have to do. Here it is.

Brian and I decided that next to our honeymoon, this is the best trip that we have ever taken together alone. So much fun! Thank you Mimi and Papa for letting us get away! We might take you up on it again sometime... :)